FUJINON LENS REVIEWS

We test Fujifilm's new wide aperture portrait lens for the X series

Fujinon Lens Reviews - Fujifilm has done well to create a range of 12 lenses since it launched the X-pro1, including this latest lens. Designed to be used with the APS-C sensors of the Fuji X system, the XF 56mm f/1.2 R provides a similar angle of view to what we'd expect of an 85mm lens on a full frame camera. it has 11 elements in eight groups, and uses one a spherical and two low dispersion elements. Fuji has used its chromatic controlling lenses directly behind the forward element, which is unusually small in relative diameter for a fast aperture lens of this type.

FUJINON LENS

As with nearly all fixed focal length X lenses, the XF 56mm's aperture ring clicks delightfully, if a little loosely, in 1/3 stops between f/1.4 and f/16 - there are no clicks between f/1.2 and f/1.4.

with a lens cap of only 62mm, the XF 56mm is shorter, narrower and lighter than the equivalents lens from Panasonic's G system - even though the G cameras use a smaller sensor. The G cameras use a smaller sensor. The lens is well built and the metal barrel and finely ribbed focusing ring fell good to the touch.

Disappointingly, though, the lens has a plastic hood not a metal one.

The lens sits comfortable on both the X-pro1 and X-T1 bodies, though the more substantial grip, both back and front, of the SLR style X-T1 allows more secure and balanced purchase, Fuji places the aperture ring closest to the mount, so fingers of the supporting hand can find it easily an without you having to shift the holding position of either camera.

The is a bit of whirring while and X-series camera focuses, and it seems to longer (or at least bigger) the lens, the longer it takes to focus. The 56mm has more glass to move than any other fixed lens in the system, and neither the X-pro1 nor the X-T1 is especially deft at shifting it. The host body's ability to make the lens work well definitely affects what you will be able to achieve. also, none of the Fuji bodies has a native ISO 100 setting, so you'll be limited in getting use out of the f/1.2 aperture in daylight.

As for image quality, lenses with wide apertures tend to produce a lot of corner shading, and while the XF 56mm's illumination is indeed less than uniform across the frame, the effect can only really be seen in images of flat, evenly lit areas. For most natural subjects, it will be fine.

Sharpness and detail are good, even when the lens is used wide open. The resolution of captured images obviously increased as i closed down, and i detected a peak between f/4 and f/5.6 and then a decline to f/16. This is based on quite close focus, such as when shooting a waist up portrait. However, as the subject distance increases, sharpness and detail decrease, so by the time i was shooting full length portraits, my images looked decidedly soft. The softness may be due to fringing and a subsequent de fringing exercise in camera, or slightly missed focused at wide apertures. The quality of out of focus highlights are mostly pleasant, which is important to wide aperture shooters. They tend to head towards the frame edges, and from f/2 they are more heptagonal, resulting in a less "creamy" look.

Pros
- Good focal length for serious portrait photographers
- Wide aperture
- Sharpness and detail
- Value for money

Cons
- Many Fuji CSCs are limited to shooting at up to 1/4000sec, making it difficult to use the lens's wide aperture outdoors in extremely bright conditions

US >> The price is right Fujinon <<

UK >> The price is right Fujinon <<

Nikon 1 V3 Review

Sleek and stylish

Amateur Photography

It’s Nikon’s slickest 1 camera yet, with a tilting touchscreen and Wi-Fi. Let's finds out how well it measures up.

Nikon 1 V3 Review - The last incarnation of the V range, the V2, was SLR-like in its styling. It had a good range of dials and buttons, as well as an integrated viewfinder and a deep handgrip. Nikon has taken a slightly different approach for the V3, removing the built-in viewfinder and making it an optional extra (called the NF-N1000.

Nikon 1 V3

The V3 has a one-inch type sensor and has increased on the V2’s 14.2 million pixels to reach 18.4 million pixels. The sensor’s optical low-pass filter has been removed, which should mean an increase in detail. Read More About Nikon 1 v3 Another Reviews is Here

BUILD AND HANDLING

In comparison with the V2, the V3 has a much flatter appearance. The textured, raised portion of the grip that is there still makes it comfortable to hold, though.

There are a lot of dials and switches on the V3, which make it pretty easy and intuitive to use. There’s also a fair amount of customization including a dial on the rear of the camera that can be changed to a number of different settings. On the front is a small dial that controls different functions depending on the shooting mode you’re using. In Aperture Priority mode, for instance, it controls aperture. Other buttons are grouped in two positions – one down the left-hand side of the rear, including menu and playback buttons, and the other grouped on the right-hand side, where you’ll find all the buttons you need for most shooting operations. You have a couple of options for setting the auto-focus point. If you prefer physical buttons, you can hit the OK button in the center of the navigational pad, then use the directional keys to move to the point you want. You can also simply tap the area on the screen that you want to focus on.

“The amount of detail on display is good, especially for a camera with a mere one-inch sensor”

PERFORMANCE

Colors straight from the camera are bright and punchy, without displaying too much saturation or vibrance. The amount of detail on display is also good, especially for a camera with a mere one-inch sensor. However, the results are still not able to compete with those from cameras fitted with larger sensors, as the V3’s images have less detail visible when they are viewed at 100%.

Generally, the camera’s metering system does a good job of producing accurate exposures, while the automatic white balance system copes well with mixed or artificial lighting to produce accurate colors This is borne out in our lab results.

Auto-focusing speeds are swift, with the hybrid AF system doing a good job in all but the dimmest of light. The kit lens is a good all-round performer, offering decent sharpness and a flexible focal length.

At mid-range sensitivities, such as ISO 800, the overall impression of noise is good, but look closely and you can see a little loss of detail and some speckling. If you up the sensitivity to ISO 3,200, the noise visibility increases significantly, although it shouldn't be a problem at small printing sizes. Comparing raw images reveals that the V3’s JPEG noise reduction is quite heavy-handed, so you might be better off applying your preferred settings in post-production.

Overall

We say: The V3 is the sleekest yet in the 1 series. It’s nice to see newer technologies, such as a touchscreen, but it’s a shame not to get the eye-level viewfinder as standard.

US >> Click Here For The Prices Nikon 1 V3 <<

UK >> Click Here For The Prices Nikon 1 V3 <<

Nikon 1 V3 review Nikon 1 V3 review, Andrian manhatan Reviewing Nikon 1 V3 and 1 v3 Recommended For you Amateur Photographer, the Best Image Quality for A Photographer Andrian Manhatan Nikon 1 V3

4.5 / 5

Leica T Review

Crafted machine

Leica’s first mainstream CSC will set you back a pretty penny, but is it worth the outlay?

Leica T Reviews - While compact system cameras have become pretty commonplace over the past couple of years, Leica through its series of rangefinders has arguably been in the CSC market for longer than anybody else. Now, however, it has introduced the T, which will compete more directly with the likes of the Fujifilm X series, the Olympus PEN and OM-D ranges and the Sony E-mount systems.

Leica says that the T system is a return to “back-to-basics shooting”, a claim that is borne out by the fact that there aren’t very many complicated controls on the body of the camera itself.

USA >> Where To Buy Leica T Review <<

UK >> Where To Buy Leica X1 Review <<

Features

Inside the T is a 16.5 million-pixel APS-C sized sensor, which puts it in direct competition with cameras from Sony, Samsung, Canon and Fujifilm. Leica has also developed a new image processing engine for the T series. The Leica T mount is brand-new.

There are currently just two new lenses that are directly compatible: an 18-56mm f/3.5-5.6 lens and a 23mm f/2 prime optic Unlike with Leica’s M rangefinder lenses, T lenses are capable of autofocussing. You can attach classic lenses via an adaptor – although these optics remain Manual Focus only.

"The Leica T features an APS-C sized sensor"

Leica is promising to introduce two more lenses for the T system during September’s Photokina, the huge biennial photo industry fair. Look out for a wide-angle 11-23mm f/3.5-4.5 and a telephoto 55-130mm f/3.5-4.5.

Leica is positioning this camera more towards the luxury end of the market, so design is a key selling point. The body has been designed in collaboration with car manufacturer Audi and is crafted from a single block of aluminium.

Interestingly, the company hasn’t skimped on modern features. There’s integrated Wi-Fi, which allows for the quick transfer of images across to your smartphone, tablet or computer, or for those devices to be used as a remote viewfinder. There’s also a 3.7-inch touchscreen on the back of the camera – much larger than the displays on most CSCs. No viewfinder is included, but an optional model can be attached via the hotshoe.

Build and Handling

At 134x69x33mm, the T is a fair bit smaller than other Leica models. It’s reasonably similar in size and shape to the Panasonic GX7, for example. But it’s quite a heavy camera, and having been crafted from a single piece of aluminium, it feels pretty solidly built too.

Probably the most notable thing about the T’s design is the scarcity of buttons on the body compared with the plethora most modern cameras offer. Most of the rear is taken up with the LCD screen. While there is some space here where additional buttons could have been added, this would no doubt have distracted from the sleek appearance of the camera. There are two dials on the top of the camera, which control different parameters depending on the shooting mode you’re in. The left dial can be customised. For instance, if you’re in Aperture Priority mode, the right dial will control aperture, and you could set the left to adjust sensitivity or exposure compensation.

Also on the top of the camera, you’ll find an on/off switch, a dedicated video record button and the shutter release. If you move the on/off switch past the ‘on’ position, the built-in flash will pop up. Aside from these few manual controls, though, you’re completely reliant on the touchscreen for changing modes and settings. A menu accessed by pressing a camera icon in the centre right of the screen brings can be customised to match your needs. As with the dials, this menu can be customised to your preferred way of working, with a simple hold-and-swipe gesture replacing and re-ordering the functions as desired. Entering playback requires a swipe down from the top of the screen, or a swipe up from the bottom – which is quite a nice touch.

“The body has been designed with Audi and is crafted from a single block of aluminium”

PERFORMANCE

With a premium price tag and the weight of the Leica brand behind it, expectations for the T were pretty high. Sadly, these haven’t quite been met. While the image quality is good, it’s really only competitive with what is already available on the market for a much cheaper price. Most of the time, colours are rendered pretty well, but there are occasions where skies in JPEG images are overly cyan when compared with the raw (DNG) images.

“The automatic white balance system does an excellent job of reproducing accurate colours”

If you’re OK to work with raw files, this isn’t a huge problem, but it’s a little bit disappointing to see. The T’s metering system does a decent job of producing accurate exposures. It has a slight tendency to underexpose, so you’ll need some positive exposure compensation in some circumstances. The automatic white balance system does an excellent job of reproducing accurate colours, even when the camera is faced with an artificial lighting source. Autofocussing speeds – and, indeed, general operating speeds – are certainly not the fastest on the market. In good light, the T will generally lock onto the subject with ease, but it has to work harder in lower light. Shot-to-shot times are a little sluggish, with a few seconds’ gap between each shot.

While the T may open up the traditionally premium Leica brand up to a wider audience, you’re paying over the odds for the famous red dot. Image quality is good, but no better than equivalent competing cameras, and the overall T system is still quite limited until Leica has the chance to develop it.

Overall

We say: Image quality from the T is no better than its equivalent rivals from Sony, Fujifilm or Samsung. If design, aesthetics and that famous red dot are your thing, though, this might just be your bag.

USA >> Where To Buy Leica T Review <<

UK >> Where To Buy Leica X1 Review <<

Leica T Review While compact system cameras have become pretty commonplace over the past couple of years, Leica through its series of rangefinders has arguably been in the CSC market for longer than anybody else. Now, however, it has introduced the T, which will compete more directly with the likes of the Fujifilm X series, the Olympus PEN and OM-D ranges and the Sony E-mount systems. Andrian Manhatan Leica T Camera

4 / 5